This Was All Your Dumb Idea
by MistressKiwi
Summary: Someone is after Ed and Al, for thier own protection they are sent to the only one who was willing to take them in and look after them...Mustang ROYxED takes place somwhere after ep. 25
1. Moving In

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. tanku._**

**_A/N: Yeah, I officially dub this to be the best 1st chapter I've ever written (sad? kinda...proud? in a way)._**

* * *

"Tell me again why we have to do this?" Ed sat across from Al looking out the window of the train with his arms folded. He hadn't looked anywhere else since they boarded the train and the scenery for the past two hours hadn't changed a bit.

"Because, Brother," Al sighed, "They're only looking out for us. I think we should be thankful." For the first time Ed turned to face his younger brother.

"We don't need anybody to look out for us, Al. We have each other." He returned his attention to the window. "And of all the people, why'd they have to stick us with _him_?" He growled angrily.

"Well, he's the only one that can take of us and actually protect us while we're with him." Al explained for what seemed the hundredth time.

"I really hate him." Ed's eyebrows scrunched together and he groaned at the thought of having to live with the colonel for who knows how long. They rode in silence the rest of the way and didn't speak of anything else until Ed pressed his finger to the window, "We're here." He said solemnly as the train station came more into view. Al turned around to look out the window and let out a sigh the same time his brother did.

"I guess it could be worse." He finally said as the train came to a stop.

Ed gave him a confused look and stood up, "How?" He asked and walked of in front of his brother, making the question rhetorical. They got of the train and waited for their things to be unloaded, which didn't take long considering they never really took much with them.

"Fullmetal, Sir!" The two brothers turned around when they heard Ed being called. Of in the distance a lady in a blue uniform and short blond hair waved to get their attention.

"Oh, so the bastard's too lazy to come pick us up himself?" Ed said angrily and made his way towards Riza Hawkeye.

"I'm sure he is just busy today." Al said trying to avoid running into anybody. His avoidance was unsuccessful and even though he'd apologize, he'd still receive the occasional, 'You shouldn't being wearing that suit of armor!'

"Mustang had to stay home and finish working on some paper work," Riza explained when Ed and Al reached her, "He sent me to come pick you up and take you to his place."

"Yeah, whatever." Ed rolled his eyes, "So where's the car."

"Right this way." She said, ignoring his first comment and leading them out of the train station towards the car. The shoved the trunk in the back and climbed in the car as Riza started it up.

"I've never been to the colonel's house before." Al said thoughtfully, "I wonder what it's like-"

"Hell." Ed said with his arms folded and gazing out the window.

"Maybe it's not." Al shot back, "Maybe he has a nice house. Maybe we'll like it there like we did at Hughes'."

"He's right." Riza said glancing over at Ed, "You really should try put your feelings towards the Colonel aside and just accept that your stuck with him until we find whoever is after you two. I also think that you should thank him for-"

"I'm not thanking him for anything! Me and Al can look after ourselves just fine! We don't need that stupid prick to-" Riza slammed her breaks, causing Ed fly into the dashboard. She then resumed driving normally.

"I wasn't finished talking. And you really should put you seatbelt on." She said calmly and Ed did as he was told, "Like I said, you should thank him for _volunteering_ to do this."

"He volunteered?" Al asked confused, "Why would he do that?"

"You should ask him yourself if you want an accurate answer." She said simply and turned down a gravel road. Ed didn't say anything for a moment before turning to her.

"How long are we going to be here?"

Riza shrugged, "Until we find and capture whoever it is that's after you two." She repeated what she had said earlier.

"I know. But, estimated, how long will that be?" Ed asked again.

"When I say." Riza frowned, "How should I know." She turned into a gravel driveway and a large house came into view, "We're here. I'll show you two where to go for your rooms then you can explore, just don't bother the colonel. He's very busy today."

"Then why isn't he at central or something?" Ed frowned as the car came to a stop and Riza helped them get their few things from the trunk and led the boys inside the house. Ed stopped at the entrance after walking inside and looked around. As much as he hated the colonel, he did have to admit that the man had a nice house.

"You coming, Fullmetal?" Riza stopped in the middle of the stairs next to Al. Ed shook his head to snap back to reality and stared blankly at Hawkeye and Al for a moment before grabbing the trunk and continuing his way towards the stairs to follow them.

"You two get separate rooms," Riza explained stopped at one room and opening the door, "This one is yours Al." She took two steps across the hall, "And since Mustang knows how you two can't stand to be separated too much," She opened the door directly across from Al's, "This one is yours, Ed."

"Why couldn't we just have bunk beds or something?" Ed said walking slowly into 'his' room, "I'd like that better.

"You can bring it up with the colonel later on when he's done working. I have to get home though, so I'll see you two another day." She patted Al on the shoulder and then Ed. "Behave yourselves." She said before walking back downstairs and out to her car. Al and Ed stood in front of their rooms looking at each other and waiting for the sound of her car engine to fade away to nothing before Ed spoke up.

"Wanna go find Mustang and bug the demon hell out of him?" He didn't wait for an answer and just walked down the hall towards the stairs.

"Uh…Brother, I don't think that's such a good idea." Al said running after his older brother, "You heard what Hawkeye said, He's busy today."

"Come one, Al, it'll be fun" Ed smirked and sat on the railing of the stairs and slid down. He stopped at the bottom and looked around until Al stood next to him, "He's got to be around here somewhere." He said half to himself.

"Maybe we should go unpack and-" Ed walked off, ignoring whatever it was Al was going to say. Al sighed and followed Ed through a door where Ed had stopped again to think.

"This way." He turned and went through another door. Al followed and they continued through the house until Ed stopped in front of a pair of large, redwood doors. "I think this is it." He nodded.

"Brother, we really shouldn't bother him." Al said, a little worried at how Mustang might react.

"Come on! He's like our new brother now!" Ed said, trying to be cheerful, "It'll be fun." He opened the door and stepped inside, "Why, there you are, Roy!" Ed exclaimed. Roy mustang dropped the pen he'd been holding in his hand and looked up to see Ed standing right in front of him leaning over his desk and holding himself up with his hands.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told Hawkeye to let you know that I'm busy and to not bother me." He frowned at Ed but didn't pay much mind to Al.

"She did." Ed smiled.

"Then why are you bothering me?" Roy said growing more and more annoyed.

"Um…" Ed tried to think of an excuse, "We're hungry? No, wait, we just wanted to see you…So, How ya doing?" He asked cheerfully.

"Get out." Roy said simply and returned to the paperwork.

"Aw, but we're your guests, you should-"

"GET OUT!" Roy bellowed and snapped his fingers, causing a huge flame to blow Ed and Al out of the room.

"Stupid bastard." Ed cursed as he dusted him self off and got off of the floor.

"I warned you." Al sighed getting up


	2. Dishes: Mustang Style

**_Disclaimer: i do not own _Fullmetal Alchemist**

* * *

Everyone sat silently around the table eating their dinner in peace, except for Al of course who just sat uncomfortably after many failed attempts at starting a conversation. "Have they found anything else?" Ed asked, finally setting down his fork.

"It's only been two days since they've received that letter." Mustang frowned at the boy, "What do you think?"

"If they were any good then They'd at least have a lead by now." Ed said sourly and folded his arms across his chest. He turned his gaze off to the side of the room looking away from both Al and Roy. "I can't wait till they say I don't have to stay with you any longer."

"Me either." Roy sighed and stood up, "Go clean the dishes." That got Ed's attention and he sat straight up, gaping at the colonel.

"I don't have to clean the dishes! It's your house!" He argued.

"I made super…New rule: Whoever does super, doesn't have to do dishes." He said smugly and nudged his plate towards Ed.

"But I'm the guest." Ed said and nudged his own plate towards the colonel. Roy frowned at the boy and held out his hand threateningly.

"Want me to flambé your ass again?" He growled.

"Brother, I think-"

"Stay out of this, Al" Ed said standing up to face the colonel. Although the six inch difference didn't seem very threatening.

"I figured you'd be all for doing the dishes." Roy shrugged and lowered his hand into his pocket. Ed eyed him for a moment trying to figure out what tricks he might have up his sleeve.

"Why would I _offer_ to clean part of _your_ house?" Ed asked raising an eyebrow.

"Because it's proven that by having chores and making sure they get done, it helps children grow." He smirked as Ed growled at him in pure anger, "Psychologically speaking, of course." His grin grew even more.

"You better shut your mouth now." Ed said taking a step closer so that he was only a few feet away from Roy.

"Although," Mustang continued as if he hadn't heard anything, "You could stand for physically too, couldn't you." He took a step forward and reached out to pat Ed's head, "Go ahead and get the dishes done." He said calmly and walked out of the dining room. Ed stood there with his fists clenched.

"I can't stand him!" He screamed and punched his right arm on the table causing the glasses to spill over and a few dishes to hop from their spot, Al to jump in surprise, and leaving a round dent in the table where the auto mail had impaled the wood.

"Break anything," Mustang shouted from the other room, "And you'll be working even more to earn the money to pay back for it!"

"Bastard!" Ed shouted at Mustang.

"Shrimp!" Instant anger filled up inside Ed and Al stood up and hurried out of the room to get out of his way.

"Who you calling short!" He screamed and slammed his fist back down in the same spot on the table and froze when he heard a loud crack. He looked down and watched as a crack split up the table into halves, "Oh shit." He said quietly and watched the table cave in on itself and the dishes slide down into the pile, a few breaking when they stopped.

Ed stopped to listen for a minute, he didn't hear Mustang anywhere nearby. He cautiously glanced around the room; he didn't see him anywhere either. He looked at the table apprehensively before bringing both his hands together and kneeling down by the mess. He was just about to press his hands to the ground and transmute everything back to normal when a gloved hand grabbed his auto mail arm and kept it from touching the floor.

"Oh no you don't, Fullmetal." Ed jumped when Roy grabbed his hand, he could've swore he was no where nearby when he looked around.

"How'd you get here?" Ed said yanking his hand away from the colonel and looking at him as if he were a warlock.

"I have ways," Roy shrugged, "What'd I say about breaking things?"

"I was going to transmute it back." Ed frowned and folded his arms.

"Quit acting like you're five." Mustang said sternly, "Stand up and tell me what I said." He commanded. Ed glared up at him for a moment before finally standing up and looking up at the colonel.

"You said I had to work to earn the money for it." He said quietly.

Mustang leaned forward, "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

Ed clenched his teeth to try and keep from punching the man right then and there, "You said," he repeated louder and looked towards a wall across the room, "That I'd have to work to earn the money for it."

Roy placed a hand under Ed's chin and turned his face so that Ed was forced to look him in the eye, "Very good. Now transmute this mess back to normal and meet me in the living room when you've finished."

"But you said-"

"I want everything back to normal," Roy said looking closely at Ed, "Don't worry, you'll still have to work to pay off the cost. The same cost it'd be if you weren't so talented and had to actually go out and buy a similar table and dining set."

Ed glared at him and shook his face free from the colonel's grasp before resuming transmuting the table back together. He kneeled down by the two table halves and sighed, "Isn't this considered slavery?" He asked as the colonel began to leave.

Roy stopped at the doorway, "No. You're getting paid you just never see the money." He then continued his way towards the living room and shouted, "I suggest you don't break anything else!"

"I'll break you." Edward mumbled under his breath and clapped his hands together before placing them on the floor. There was a bright blue flash and the table was back to normal, along with the dishes which were now clean. "Dishes are done!" He said happily and stood up to walk out of the dining room towards the living room where Roy had told him to go afterwards.

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**_A/N: Sorry about the short chapter everyone...I'll have about a whole week though to work on the next chapter, so it should be really good._**

**_Anyways, I plan on starting some lime (possble lemon) yaoi stuff shortly so if you're against that, as much as it pains me, I must suggest that you stop reading. because it's not going to be the next chapter...but it will be soon._**


	3. The Living Room

**_Disclaimer: I do not own _Fullmetal Alchemist**

**_a/n: Unless I become magically motivated tonight this is going to be thelast update for a few days until I manage to get on a computer...because I will be without internet for a week unless I go work down at my grandpa's shop...sorry everyone._**

* * *

The room seemed to be entirely caked in dust as Ed walked in. The light from the few lamps hanging from the wall and from the window showed all of the small dust particles that hung in the air. Ed coughed a little and looked behind himself; he could _swear_ that he'd left footprints on his way in. "When's the last time you cleaned in here?" He managed to choke out when he saw Mustang sitting leisurely on the couch.

Roy shrugged, "How much would you say that table cost? 300, 400?" He completely ignored Ed's question and adjusted himself so that he was now facing the blonde, "I'd say it's about a week's worth of work." He finally made eye contact.

"You want me to clean this place?" Ed looked around and held back a sneeze, "That'll take a week alone!"

"Two days tops." Roy stood up and walked over to Ed. "I suggest you go ahead and unpack tonight and rest up because you'll be working tomorrow. Once you finish this room you'll move on." Ed glared at him as he walked past and opened the door, "I met let you off easy though." He shrugged and held the door open, gesturing for Ed to exit the living room.

Ed walked towards the door and stopped when he reached the colonel and turned to face him, standing on his toes and his eyes narrowed, "I can't stand you at all." He said through clenched teeth then left the living room to go upstairs.

"Brother!" Al stopped him in the hallway between their rooms, "What'd the colonel want?"

"I have to clean the living room tomorrow." Ed shrugged it off like it were nothing, "So I'm going to go ahead and go to bed."

"But it's only like 8." Al said, glancing at a clock down the hall, "Maybe we could try to figure some things out so we can leave here quicker?" He suggested.

Ed shook his head, "I don't feel like it, Al. I'm just going to go to bed." He turned around and opened his door, going inside his room and saying "Good night" before closing the door and collapsing in the bed.

* * *

Ed slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room, for a second he was startled at where he was then he remembered that he was at the colonel's house. He stretched out and sat up. His hair was still braided from the night before and more than a few flyways had made their presence known.

He slowly climbed out of the bed and went to find some clean clothes. He dug through the trunk and pulled out a pair or leather pants and a tank top, just like he'd always worn, along with some clean underwear. He slammed the trunk shut and slowly walked towards the door, opening it and peering around the hallway for any signs of anyone else around. He didn't see anyone and made a beeline for the bathroom, not want anybody, even Al, to catch him in his boxers.

He finished his shower in about ten minutes but spent almost twenty more just drying off, making sure he got every crevasse he could on his auto mail to avoid rusting even slightly. He got dressed and quickly braided his hair back up and went down stairs. Al was already sitting at the table when he got into the dining room. He sat down next to his brother and waited for the Colonel to bring out whatever he had made for them for breakfast.

"Did you sleep well?" Al asked after a few moments of silence.

"Decently." Ed shrugged, "Sorry if I was kind of mean last night." he said it quietly. It wasn't normal for him to apologize to anyone, although he did occasionally to Al.

"It's fine, you were just upset about the Colonel making you clean the living room today." He waved it off like it were nothing, "I saw it this morning before I can in here…Actually it was a few minutes after I saw you running full speed, half naked, for the bathroom." He giggled.

"Hey!" Ed quickly jerks his head to his brother, "I checked before I left the room-"

"I know-"

"And no one was in the hall-"

"Not when you looked-"

"Whatever." Ed sighed, "Better you than Mustang." He'd reasoned out that it'd be less embarrassing for his brother to see him half naked than Roy.

"Eggs, toast, some sausage…" Roy came in carrying two large plates, one with scrambled eggs on it, and another with toast on one side and sausage patties on the other." He set the plates down and sat down at the end of the table.

"Eat up, Fullmetal, you're going to need a lot of energy today." He said gleefully.

"Oh, so you're not going to be a nice host and help me?" Ed asked sourly as he dumped a pile of eggs on his plate and grabbed a piece of toast.

"Nope." Roy answered doing the same, "I have to go to Central today. In case you don't remember, I have a _job_. So you two will have my house to yourselves until I get home…So don't destroy it."

"Oh, we won't." Al said thoughtfully, "I'll make sure he behaves." He motioned towards Ed, who returned a glare at his brother and muttered:

"Traitor." He took a bite out of the toast then returned to the colonel, "You guys better find out something today…It's only my second day here and I'm ready to leave."

"We're working as fast as we can. Believe me, I can't wait for you to leave either."

Ed sank in his chair, in attempt to hold back his anger.

"I knew it!" Roy smiled, "You really _are_ shrinking!" Ed bolted back up, his face red with anger and slight embarrassment.

"I'm not shrinking! You can even ask granny Pinako! I'm growing!" He bellowed loudly.

"Calm down." Roy raised his hand at Ed, "I was just trying to lighten the mood." Neither Ed nor Al bought that though. They both knew that Roy knew how much Ed hated being called short.

"Lighten the mood, my ass." Ed said looking away from the table.

"I'm going to work extra hard today." Roy said standing up, "That way we can finish this case sooner and you can get out of my house." He grabbed his plate and walked into the kitchen to put it in the sink. He walked back out and as he was passing through the dining room to leave Ed spoke up.

"If you hate me so much why the hell would you _volunteer_ to have us stay with you until the case was closed?" He screamed angrily with his arms folded.

Roy stopped for a moment then decided it was better not to answer and just left the room, and the house, quietly.

"I asked him a question and he completely ignored me!" Ed screamed, anger building up, "You don't just ignore people when they're talking to you."

"He was kind of mad though, maybe-"

"I mean, they could at least have the common courtesy to _acknowledge _the person interrogating them."

"Maybe we could ask him tonight when he gets home-"

"And it was a simple question too!" He folded his arms and began to pout. Al sighed and took this opportunity to tell his brother what he'd been saying the whole time during his rant.

"You kind of upset him though, maybe you should ask him when he gets home of tomorrow morning _before_ you upset him again." He suggested. Ed sighed, knowing his brother was right and stood up.

"I better get started on that dumb living room." He began walking out of the dining room, "Enjoy your day off, Al."

Al quickly stood up and followed his brother, "I'll help. You'll get it down quicker and the dust won't bother me at all."

"Suit yourself." Ed shrugged and walked into the dusty living room, followed by Al.


	4. Good Night Kiss

**_Disclaimer: I do not own _Fullmetal Alchemist**

**_Warning: Shonen ai (this means boys' love...so if you don't like that don't flame it and just don't read.)_**

* * *

"I owe you, Al." Ed sighed, wiping his forehead on his arm. They'd been working on cleaning the living room almost the hole day so far and it was only early afternoon. There was still a lot of work left to do, but if they only stopped a short time for lunch, then continued working at the same pace they'd definitely have it done before the colonel got home. Which, as good as it sounded, apparently just meant more work for Ed.

"Let's go ahead and get you some lunch." Al said nudging the couch back to where it originally was since they'd finished cleaning under it. Ed nodded and set the rag he was using to dust with down on the coffee table and followed Al out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"I'm thinking a sandwich should do…That's quick." He nodded and headed towards the fridge, "Can you find me the bread, Al?"

"Here it is." Al opened up the bread box and pulled out a loaf. He cut off two slices for his brother and put it back in the box.

"Thanks." Ed came back with some jelly.

"No peanut butter?" Al asked, watching his brother load up a piece of bread with the purple goop.

"Nope." Ed shook his head and put the lid back on the jar. Al went ahead and took the jar back to the refrigerator and put it away. "I don't feel like looking for the peanut butter, nor do I mind." He took a bite of the sandwich and leaned against the counter enjoying the small break they had before they had to continue cleaning what Roy called his 'living room'. Though it looked like no one had been in it for a few years.

"You think we'll get it done today?" Al asked referring to the living room. Ed shrugged.

"I hope so."

"But doesn't that just mean he'll give you more work?"

"Theoretically, yes." Ed nodded. "But if we clean everything up, he'll be out of ideas."

"I'm sure he'd be able to think of something." Al said. Ed knew his younger brother was right, but didn't say anything to let his brother know so. He took the last few bites of his sandwich and wiped his hands off on his pants.

"Let's go. If we finish early enough we can actually get a good break." He stood up straight and lead his brother out of the kitchen and back into the living room. Ed grabbed the dusting rag off the coffee table and looked around the room, "You know…we really don't have a lot to do."

"You're right." Al said walking over next to him.

"Get the curtains down and you can take them out side and shake them out while I wipe down the windows." Ed made his way over towards one of the windows.

"But, Brother." Al began to protest, "Are you sure you can reach the tops of the windo-" He froze in mid-sentence when he saw the glare his brother was giving him, "I mean, even I can't reach them…I wasn't calling you short! I swear!" He hoped he'd be forgiven for what he'd just said and Ed just turned back to dragging a chair over towards on of the windows to get the curtains down for Al to shake out.

"After this, we can finished dusting off anything else that may need it…then sweep the floor all the way up since we got under the furniture already." He pretended he hadn't heard Al before, but his expression a few minutes ago didn't allow him to fool anybody, "And we should be done in an hour or so." He stood on his toes in the chair and reached for the curtain rod, just barely making it and having the curtains slide off into his arms and he handed them down to Al and drug the chair over to the next window, "And we can open the windows and let some fresh air in so I don't die next time I come in here."

"That shouldn't take too long." Al agreed. Ed handed him the last curtains and pushed the chair back while Al went out side to shake the dust off the curtains. He grabbed the broom and began sweeping all the dust and dirt up into a large pile in the center of the room.

"Hawkeye definitely had her dog here." He said to himself when he noticed the black dog hair, "Or maybe it's the colonel's! They're both dogs!" He began laughing to himself at his own joke. Then realizing what he was doing he stopped and continued sweeping.

Once it was all in a pile he grabbed the rag off the coffee table and hurried to wipe off the windows as quickly as he could. Al came in a few minutes later and Ed brought the chair back over and hung the curtains back up.

"This is a lot better, now" He sighed climbing down from the chair and putting it back one more time. Al agreed and opened up the windows. Ed sighed, breathing in the new air.

"Just one thing left." He made his way over to the dust pile and gathered it all up at once in the dust pan and went over to the window and dumped it outside. He sighed and dropped the broom and dustpan on the floor. He immediately fell back on the floor in relief.

"Brother, the wind is blowing all the dust back in the room." Al noted.

"I don't care!" Ed said covering his face up with his hands, "We're done! Just let it go!"

"I'll go put these away then," Al said picking up the broom and pan and walking out of the room. He went to the kitchen and stuck them against the wall next to the refrigerator, not sure where they really went.

He walked back to the living room and stopped in the entryway when he saw his brother laying flat on the floor, snoring loudly. Al walked over and looked down at Ed, _He always looks so docile when he's sleeping_ He said lifting his brother up and carrying him to the couch. He set him down and set his arm on her stomach so that it wasn't hanging down over the edge and wouldn't be sore when he woke up.

"Sleep well, Brother." He told the sleeping blonde and made his way out of the room, "You worked hard today." He left the living room so his brother could rest up in peace and quiet.

----------------

SLAM!

Ed quickly sat up and looked around the room to find the source of what ever it was that surprised him. For a moment he was lost as to where he was until he noticed Roy standing over next to one of the windows.

"You were asleep." Roy informed him, "And I didn't want anybody breaking into my house while you slept."

"Oh." Ed yawned and wiped his eyes. He was still too tired to try and argue about anything.

"You should get to bed." Roy said when he noticed how tired Ed looked. Ed just nodded and laid back down on the couch.

He was almost asleep when Roy shook him awake, "Go to bed." He said sternly. Ed's eyes snapped open widely then returned to their half open state.

"I'm going!" He whined. He pushed Roy away and sat up, stretching out his arms in the process. He stood up and did all he could to force his eyes to stay open.

"It's only 8:30." Roy laughed, "And you're acting like it's 3 in the morning."

"I spent the whole day cleaning. You try that and be fully awake." Ed snapped at him. Roy followed after him, still amused at how Ed's fatigue affected him.

"You did get it done." Roy nodded, "Quicker than I expected you to." He stepped in front of Ed and took a few long strides to get to the door before Ed could, because he wasn't sure that the boy could open it in the state he was in.

"Yeah." Ed nodded slowly, "Al helped me…but you should still pay me…or let me not have to clean anymore or something though since it got done so quickly."

"Yeah." Roy agreed, "I guess you don't have to clean anymore…Unless you break something again."

"I'll be sleeping then tomorrow…All day." Ed yawned. He stopped in front of Roy, "And I can still open doors so you don't have to walk me to my room." He frowned.

"Good night, Shrimp." Roy leaned down and gently kissed Ed on the lips. Ed just accepted it, he didn't do anything to stop Mustang, nor did he return the action. It only took a second though for him to become fully awake in that instant as Roy pulled away. His eyes snapped all the way open and he stared blankly at the Colonel.

"What the hell was that for!" He shouted.

"What?"

"You- First you called me a 'shrimp' and then you kissed me." Ed said. His eyebrows began to furrow together and he narrowed his eyes, looking up at Roy.

"Well, you are short and it was just a good night kiss." Roy shrugged it off.

"On the lips?" Ed eyed him. Roy leaned down so that he was only an inch from Ed's face.

"It was just a good night kiss." He said again and ran the back of hand against the blonde's cheek, causing him to blush. Roy stood up straight and left Ed and went to go the grab something to eat before he went to bed.


	5. The Library

**_Disclaimer: I do not own _Fullmetal Alchemist**

**_A/N: This will be my last update for any story for for about a week...sorry veryone, I'll still be writing, I just can't add any stories until I get home Sunday._**

* * *

The sun shown through the half drawn curtains on the window of Ed's bedroom. The small clock that stood on the nightstand next to the bed had small glare on it, but you were still able to see the roman numerals on the face and were able to note that it was after 11 in the morning.

Al sighed, watching his brother sleep. Even though Ed was a short tempered - being completely literal - he appeared so innocent while he slept. Like he was a still a kid, and Al was still a kid, and their mother was still alive. It always seemed that while people slept, nothing could bother them. And there was always an aura of peace around the person quiescent.

There was a slight flutter of eyelashes that caught Al attention and he turned to watch his older brother's eyes dart around the room before his gaze fell upon the large suit of armor sitting at the end of his bed. "What time is it?" Ed yawned and propped himself up on his elbows.

"It's a little after 11." Al informed him, "You slept a lot last night and I just came up here a few minutes ago to make sure you were still breathing. Ed glanced around the room for a moment, noting the plain white walls and the bland atmosphere.

"I could've swore I fell asleep in the living room." His face twisted up slightly and you could tell that he'd gone into deep thought.

"You did." Al said watching his brother stoke his chin thoughtfully. "I saw you come up here last night after the colonel got home then you just collapsed in you bed and went back to sleep. I came in to tuck you in so you wouldn't freeze."

"Oh, yeah!" Ed nodded, "That's right. Mustang came in and woke me up and sent me to bed." His fingers subconsciously brushed against his lips and a vivid replay of the night before went through him. He face turned a light shade of pink and he hurriedly flipped over so that he was lying on his stomach and his face was buried in the pillow so that Al couldn't see him.

"He left already." Al said, oblivious to his brother's nervousness, "He made you some pancakes before he left…but they're probably cold now."

"I'm not very hungry." Ed's voice was muffled by the pillow but he didn't bother lifting his face from the suffocate. Every mention of Roy caused his face to go a shade redder than before. He even placed a hand on the back of his neck, for fear that the colour had spread that far.

"Ok." Al would've nodded if he could, but his current outward appearance wouldn't allow him. "He also told me to let you know that you didn't have to clean anymore."

"Can we stop talking about him!" Ed shouted. It wasn't a very loud shout though, considering the fact that it was muffled by the pillow his face was pressed into. His complexion had returned to normal and he turned to face his younger brother, "Sorry." He said quietly, scratching the back of his head nervously, "I didn't mean to shout."

"It's OK." Al spoke softly, "I know you hate the colonel and that it annoys you anytime you hear his name. I should've known."

"I just need to learn to control my temper." Ed said tossing the bedcovers aside and climbing off the mattress, "Maybe I can become more patient too!" He let out a hearty laugh at his joke, but there was still a bit of honesty behind it that neither of the brothers could deny.

"I'm going to go read some books while you get ready." Al stood up off the bed, "I found the library after he left." Al used the word 'he' now when referring to the colonel to avoid his brother's temper erupting again.

"Maybe we can find something of interest while we're there." Ed said grabbing clean clothes and walking past Al to got down the hall towards the shower. Unlike the day before, he was still completely dressed and didn't have to take off in a sprint for the bathroom.

* * *

"So they still haven't made any progress?" Ed asked absentmindedly thumbing through a book he plucked off the shelf. He spent a few seconds looking through its pages before returning it to it's position.

"None that I've heard of. I asked Mustang this morning and he said that they were still stumped." Al stood on the other side of the library glancing at the titles written on the spines as he walked past each shelf.

"I bet it's just a hollow threat." Ed said in annoyance and pulled another book that caught his interest off the shelf, "Or some homunculi." He shrugged and shoved the book back in it's place and peered around the large room, "For all these books, he really doesn't have a good reading selection."

Al could be heard walking back across the library to join his brother, "Maybe he could take us to central with him tomorrow and we could go to the library there." He suggested, "We could ask tonight."

Ed thought it over for a moment; it wasn't a bad idea at all, but trying to get Roy to go with it would pose a challenge. "We can try." He finally said, "It might be a hopeless cause but-"

"Nothing's a hopeless cause unless you _know for a fact_ that you'll fail in process." Al said looking at his brother. Even though his face never altered, Ed could sense a frown in his brother's tone.

"That would be martyrdom." Ed pointed out, "Which isn't a hopeless cause because you technically set out to fail which is a cause."

"You don't always set out to fail though."

"If you know ahead of time you're going to fail, and you still go for it, then you go in it with the knowledge that you're going to fail and hopes that you'll live up to that then that has a cause. But not knowing if you'll fail or pass and still taking the chance doesn't really have a cause because you don't know how that'll turn out."

"Then there's the cause." Al pointed out to his older brother, "Taking a chance. And it couldn't hurt. The worst thing he could say would be 'no'."

"Like we haven't heard that from him before?" Ed asked sarcastically rolling his eyes. Al reached out to the shelf and pulled out a book with a dark, forest green cover.

"Look at this." He held the book in front of Ed's face who read the title: _The False Life._ "I think it's about Homunculi." Al explained the reason he'd gotten the book. Ed took it from him and thumbed through the pages before handing it back to Al.

"Let's find some more, then we can go back to my room and read them." He stated and turned back to the large bookshelf to try and find more books that could serve as some purpose to Al and Ed.

The two looked throughout the entire library for the next few hours, plucking random books off the shelves and then placing them back after glancing at them for a few moments.

"I think we've looked through all the book, brother." Al sighed as he placed another book back on the shelf where it belonged.

"I think you're right," Ed sighed and picked up the few books they had found to be of their use. "At least we did find something."

"Yeah." Al agreed and followed his brother out of the library, "I bet the colonel'll be home soon, I hope he doesn't mind us borrowing his books."

"Who cares if he does?" Ed shrugged, "We have them anyway so there's no point to not read them." They made their way up the stairs before Ed spoke again, "Plus, we might actually be able to help out with the case some if it involves homunculi…Too bad no one will let us near it." He sighed.

"I think it's better that we don't have to work on it." Al responded following his brother down the hall to his room. "We get time off to have a break, be kids again."

"I guess." Ed kicked his door open and went over to dump the books on the bed, "But sometimes you need to grow up quicker than you're supposed to." He sat down and grabbed a book and began reading.

* * *

"So you two found the library? I knew it wouldn't take long." Ed and Al both looked at the doorway where Roy was leaning against the frame watching them.

The two boys had been reading since almost 2:00 that afternoon and it was now after 8:00 at night. Ed set his book down, spine up, on the bed and looked over at the colonel.

"There wasn't anything else to do." He answered the colonel, giving their reason for searching through the house.

"Just make sure you put them back."

"We will." Al reassured him and started piling up the books they'd already read. Ed reached down for the book he'd been reading when his stomach began to growl. He paused for a moment, baffled then remembered that he hadn't eaten anything all day.

"I can put the books away," Al told him, "you should get something to eat so you don't go hungry." Ed nodded and climbed off the bed. He went out of the room and looked down the hall, he didn't see Mustang anywhere so continued his way downstairs. A few minutes later he heard the sound of Al's armor clanging when he walked and looked back up the stairs to see Al just emerging from the hall.

Can't find anyone else like him, Ed sighed and continued toward the kitchen. He pushed the door open and stopped when he saw Roy standing at the counter. It was at that moment that he'd realized he'd never seen the colonel in anything but his blue uniform. Even if he was only in a plain white button down shirt, and black slacks, and bare foot, seeing him out of work clothes was something rarely seen by Roy's subordinates.

"Can I help you?" Roy glanced over at Ed while he put the milk carton back in the refrigerator.

"I'm just getting something to snack on before bed," Ed said walking over to him to peer in the refrigerator as well.

"Clean up you mess when you're done." Roy grabbed the glass of milk he'd just poured off the counter and left the kitchen. Ed watched the door swing shut, slightly let down.


	6. An Unexpected Turn

(I'm so sorry that this chapter is so sucky. I've been on writer's block for so long and I knew what I wanted to do here. I figured that while I could, that I should just go ahead and write it down as best I could to keep the story going. I promise I will finish it, it just might take longer than planned . maybe reviews will encourage me and get my mind rolling with ideas.)

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"Look at this, Al" Ed said as he pulled some papers out of the top right drawer of Roy's desk. "They've been holding out on us."

"Uh, Brother…" Al started, but it was no use: Ed had already made himself comfortable in the Colonel's seat, reading through the case notes.

"I guess we lucked out when he couldn't find them this morning, huh?" Ed smirked, remembering the fit Mustang had thrown this morning because he couldn't find the case notes. He finally gave up and just called Lt. Hawkeye for her to make copies.

Ed turned the seat and sat up so that he could set the papers down on the desk and read them there. "They've already got three leads" he said eagerly, "That means we might not need to stay here much longer." He said this with enjoyment, but he didn't really feel too happy about it on the inside. He knew he'd still see Roy most of the time, but staying at his house was a lot more fun than being a nomad, traveling everywhere on trains, and have to sleep with one eye open.

"See, they didn't really need you. You were fine taking a break…from…everything…" Al trailed off as his brother's glare became more intent.

"They'd have found out who it was by now if I was able to work on this." Ed said sourly, "I value your life a lot."

"And yours" Al said sternly.

"Yeah." Ed said. He didn't want to get into any type of argument about silly things with his brother just then. "Let's go read these over some lunch. I'm starved." He pushed the chair back and got up, walking briskly out of the room. Al reluctantly followed.

----------------------------------------------

"So, the three leads." Al said looking at the notes while Ed fixed a mayonnaise sandwich with pepper jack cheese. "There's some old, rich guy named Edgar Van Jan; a woman in her mid-30's, Karla Luse; and a younger guy named Hank Grett." Al read over the info again, "I've never heard of any of these people."

"Yeah, me either." Ed agreed. He jumped up on the counter next to Al so he could read over his shoulder. "You'd think that the person coming after us would at least _know_ us."

"Well, criminals are pretty insane. Remember that butcher?" Al reminded his brother, "He wasn't completely normal and he killed complete strangers."

"Yeah…but that was at random. He didn't even know anything about them" Ed countered, "This person knows us, or about us at least." Al didn't say anything, but just turned the page to continue reading.

"We're not the only people though that this guy's after." Al pointed out, "Maybe that could help out the case. You know, so they can find common things to look for."

"That's…good…I guess." Ed thought for a moment. His brother made a valid point, but it wasn't really good that this person was going after other people. "How many others?"

"Just one."

"Really? That's pathetic." Ed smirked, "What's their name?" He took a bite of the sandwich and waited for Al to answer.

"Al?" Ed looked over at his younger brother when he didn't say anything, "Who is it?" He leaned over to read over the suit of armor's shoulder. In an almost illegible scribble towards the bottom of the page was one name Ed hadn't expected to see. He really never expected to see it on a government document.

_Winry Rockbell._

"Winry?!" Ed jumped off of the counter and ripped the papers from his brother's hands, quickly reading over the page. "That can't be right! She's never done anything. Why would anyone want to come after her. I can understand us, I mean. Look who we are. But why Winry?"

"Apparently…She was kidnapped." Al spoke quietly and pointed to the second paragraph. "That's probably why they didn't want you on the case. Granny called in that she was kidnapped two days before we were told to come here."

Ed frowned and tossed the papers on the counter. They scattered everywhere and Al rushed to pick them up, "Why would anyone want to kidnap her?" Ed said angrily, "She'd be able to defeat any gag and just talk the person to death. Ranting about how what they were doing was wrong and other things they'd care less about. And How'd she get kidnapped? She could just hit them on the head with that wretched wrench and done would be done."

"Brother…" Al shook the papers so that they lined up and set them on the counter, "You know that's not true." Ed frowned at his brother, but Al continued, "They probably took her to get to us. Which would explain why no one told us. You don't have to make excuses. She's our best friend; I know you care that she was taken."

"Yeah, well they could've told us something about it." Ed crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes.

"Why? So you could over-react like you are now?" Roy said, walking into the kitchen. "You know you aren't supposed to go through my things." He frowned at Ed and went over to get the papers off of the counter.

"You left them out here." Ed lied.

"No." Roy shook his head, "They were in the top right corner of my desk" He walked out of the room to put the notes back where the boys had gotten them. Ed looked at Al confused.

"I thought he couldn't find them this morning." Ed said annoyed, realizing he'd just been played by the Colonel. "I bet he wanted us to find them." He frowned angrily and left the kitchen to go up to his room and blow off some steam.

Al sighed, standing alone in the kitchen, "This is gong to be an interesting night," he yawned unenthusiastically.


End file.
